


Goodbye for Now

by kuchiki977



Series: Of Missed High-Fives and Time-Travel [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/M, Female Uzumaki Naruto, Older Uzumaki Naruto, Time Travel Fix-It, Young Uchiha Madara, child!Madara, fem!Uzumaki Naruto - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:54:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25798498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuchiki977/pseuds/kuchiki977
Summary: A chance meeting in the forest lays the foundation for a different path for Madara.ORNaruto's charisma transcends time and space. Again.(Edited and reposted to avoid confusion down the road.)
Relationships: Uchiha Madara/Uzumaki Naruko, Uchiha Madara/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: Of Missed High-Fives and Time-Travel [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1874794
Comments: 7
Kudos: 637
Collections: Fics that made me happy 2021, Foxy fox 🦊, fffffffff, why im sleep deprived 💖✨





	Goodbye for Now

Just as Madara stops to take a sip of water, an obnoxiously bright flash of light momentarily blinds him. While he hisses and rubs at his eyes, he hears a voice from a ways down the path ahead. "Whoops. Looks like I overshot the place."

Once his eyes stop watering, Madara sees what just interrupted his afternoon patrol: a woman. Her ethereal golden locks briefly enchant him, but the spell is broken when she swears, "Aw fuck, he's never gonna let me live this one down."

Madara takes a moment to study her. Her clothing is odd. He nearly scoffs aloud at her mid-calf sandals. Only a woman would waste valuable materials on fashion. A sensible black jacket peeks out from under her loose, waist-length hair, but her trousers are _very short_. Has she no shame? Moreover, they’re **_orange_**. No kunoichi would wear such a conspicuous color if they wanted to survive longer than a few seconds.

Kunoichi stick to the shadows. They aren't suited for combat on the front lines, so they specialize in seduction and assassination. They lure foolish men into traps with charm and beauty. An unladylike groan and slouch confirm his suspicion that she couldn't possibly be a kunoichi. However, he still doesn't know her purpose for being here or who sent her. Or, how she materialized on the outskirts of Uchiha territory.

The only semblance of an affiliation Madara can see is a strange swirl marking on a band around her left arm. It looks somewhat familiar, but he can't place it. There are too many unknowns about her, so he decides to call for backup. Madara swaps his water container for his war horn, quietly takes a deep breath in, and lifts the horn to his lips.

A fist arcs toward his head before he can blow into it. Madara dodges, but she uses the opening to smack the horn out of his hand. He jumps backward to avoid the grab she makes for him, but _another arm_ shoots out from her side and grabs his ankle. His eyes bug out at the sight of an arm composed of pure chakra. The woman takes advantage of his shock and grabs his wrists with her flesh hands. Another chakra arm snakes around his other ankle and she lifts him off the ground. Madara curses and tries to wrench out of her hold, but her grip holds strong.

Unfortunately, Madara has yet to perfect one-handed seals or unlock his Sharingan. Out of options, he opens his mouth to yell for help, or at least alert his clansmen that they have an intruder. But, a third chakra arm bursts from her chest and covers his mouth. The...fingers...locked around his jaw are solid like flesh, but a constant thrum of energy beneath the "skin" highlights how alien and dangerous her chakra limbs are. He stiffens in fear. She captured him instead of killing him outright, but that doesn't mean she _won't_ kill him.

Then again, dying might be better than having his eyes snatched from his head.

To his surprise, her first words to him are an attempt to comfort. "Shhhh. Let's just calm down, okay?"

The woman pauses as if waiting for a reply, so he nods as best he can. She sighs in relief. "Great! I'm not gonna hurt you, ya know? I just have a couple of questions…"

Suddenly, her eyes widen and she gets up in his face. Despite the precarious position he finds himself in, Madara doesn't back down. Barely a hair's breadth between their noses, curious azure stares into anxious charcoal. With their faces so close, he knows the exact moment _recognition_ flits through her eyes—much to his confusion.

A bright smile stretches across her face. He jolts when she tosses him into the air. Before he can even begin to process what's happening, she catches him under his armpits. To Madara's mortification, she spins on her heel and swings him around like a toddler. Luckily, she quickly tires of spinning and settles for hugging him to her chest. Madara closes his eyes and grips the sleeves of her jacket while he gets his bearings. Father would be so ashamed to see his eldest son being held like a baby, but Madara is just grateful that she doesn't seem interested in harming him.

She pats his back soothingly as she laughs through an apology, "Sorry! You’re so cute that I couldn't help it."

More confident that he isn't in any danger, Madara doesn't bother holding back his temper once he can see straight. He looks her in the eye to drive home his point as he snaps, "Uchiha warriors are not _cute_!"

One eyebrow raised, she asks, _"Warrior?_ What are you, six?"

Madara hisses his retort, "I'm almost eight!"

She scoffs, "Seven, then. How terrifying."

The woman's audacity boils his blood. Unfortunately, Madara's most vicious glare only earns him some snickering. Her face nuzzles against his and his cheeks redden in embarrassment. Madara pushes her whiskered cheek as far away as he can reach, but the woman just laughs and doesn't bother resisting or restraining his hands again. 

He takes pride in being the strongest in his age group, but she doesn't even consider him a mild concern. Father said he might be able to overpower an adult, but he was easily bested by a _woman._ Worse still, if she had been a real threat, he'd have been dead ten times over. His face contorts in frustration as he dwells on the vast gap between their skill levels. The woman sing-songs, "Ah, there's my favorite scowl!"

Teeth clenched, he clutches the fabric of her jacket between his fists. She has been overly familiar for long enough. Madara growls, "Who are you?"

"The name's Uz— Uch—…Naruto. Nice to meetcha, Madara!"

He meets her sunny smile with an unimpressed look. He may be young, but he’s not stupid. "What's your last name?"

Naruto waffles, "Isn't it a shinobi law or somethin’ that you're not supposed to ask a fellow ninja's last name?"

So, she is a kunoichi, then. Her allegiance remains to be seen, however. Madara replies, "Normally, yes. But, you're _trespassing_ on Uchiha territory. Furthermore, why do you know my name?"

"Um…I heard it from someone," she answers.

Her anxiety is obvious in the way she diverts her eyes. The beginnings of a smirk grow on Madara’s face as he asks, "From who?"

"A bunch of people," she replies. The trees around them suddenly seem a lot more interesting to her.

Madara scoffs, "You're a terrible liar."

Her head whips back to face him. She accuses, "Watch it, punk! Weren'tcha ever taught to respect your elders?"

"You're not very respectable," he retorts.

Naruto utters a shocked gasp. "Not very resp—Do you even know who you're talking to?! I'm a pretty big deal, ya know!"

"Tell me, then." Madara revels in the shocked look on her face. The simpleton sputters for a bit before releasing an exasperated sigh and finally putting him down. He smirks as she grimaces and tries to muss up his spiky hair in retaliation. 

She mumbles, “Smart-mouthed brat.” 

It clearly wasn’t intended for him to hear, but he replies just to piss her off even more, "I get that a lot."

Naruto crosses her arms and pouts. "That's not somethin' to be proud of."

He huffs an amused laugh and he can almost hear her grinding her teeth. What a child! His eyes narrow when Naruto suddenly gets a wicked gleam in her eye. Settling into a squat to be on eye level with him, she casually brings them back to the topic at hand, "You wanna know my name that badly?"

Unappreciative of the way she phrased the question, Madara corrects her, "It would be in your best interest to answer, _woman_. Obedient captives are treated better."

Naruto ignores his jabs entirely. "Oh? I should be afraid of the big, bad Uchiha clan?"

"You would be a fool not to," he asserts.

"Says the squirt that was my captive just a couple minutes ago," she counters.

Madara yells, "Squirt?! How dare—"

Naruto interrupts him with an uncharacteristic calm, "Besides, what do I have to fear from my own clansmen?"

She pauses to let that sink in. Madara meets her challenging gaze and restrains the urge to burst out laughing. He mustn’t act unrefined, but he can't keep the mocking tone from his voice. " _You?_ An Uchiha? Did you hit your head or someth—"

In lieu of a reply, Naruto simply turns her back to him and lifts her hair out of the way. He chokes on the rest of his words. A large red and white fan stitched onto her jacket mocks him. She gives him a good, long look before turning back to face him. Her smirk makes him see red. "Imposter! How dare you wear the Uchiha crest!"

Naruto's smirk doesn’t even falter. "I wear it cuz you wouldn't stop nagging me, _dear_."

Madara must have misheard. "Wh-what did you just say?"

"I said that I'm from the future and you're a pretty annoying husband," she answers.

Stunned, Madara tries to process what Naruto just said. Becoming the head of the clan still seems eons away, let alone marriage. Girls are weak and can’t keep up with him. He was told to be gentle with them and protect them, but they seem like more trouble than they’re worth. This one certainly isn't weak, but she sure is irritating.

Before Madara gets too lost in his thoughts, he remembers the most ridiculous assertion Naruto has made yet: time travel. Her behavior and clothes are inappropriate, sure, but she could just be foreign. He accuses, "You're lying."

"Am I?" she asks and makes a show of thinking about her reply before turning his world upside down, "Hmm, you said you're seven, so that means you have at least three brothers right now." 

Madara's eyes widen, but Naruto continues, "After you, there's Izuna, Homura, and Shou. Izuna is five years old, Homura is four, and Shou is two. Your mom, Kanna, is still pregnant with your youngest brother,Takuto, and your dad,Tajima, picked his name."

The frighteningly accurate description of his family leaves Madara speechless. Mother just announced her pregnancy at last night's dinner. He and his brothers spent the meal throwing out name suggestions to Father before he settled on "Takuto." 

The news probably hasn't even spread throughout the settlement yet, and it certainly wouldn't be information leaked to the outside. Most of the clan is stationed at home right now, so it’s nigh impossible for a spy to sneak in and out undetected—especially one dressed in obnoxious orange clothes. But, that would mean…

Madara decides to test how committed Naruto is to her story. "What year did you travel back from?"

"The first time or the second time?" 

His brow furrows. She does this often? Madara clarifies, "What year are you from originally?"

"You wouldn't believe me," Naruto claims.

He asks, "You think I believe anything else you've said?"

"You accepted that we're married in the future pretty quick," she retorts.

"It's possible that the head of the clan would marry for advantage," he says. It’s rare for the Uchiha to marry outsiders, but Madara could believe that he would use marriage to forge an alliance with another clan. He would never say it aloud, but she impresses him. His clan produces the strongest ninjas in the Land of Fire, possibly the world, but her clan is clearly worthy of recognition. The Uchiha could benefit from a partnership with them.

Naruto grins again and Madara gets a bad feeling. This time, she contradicts his own understanding of himself. "Actually, you asked me to marry you cuz you lo—"

He cuts her off, "Don't!"

Enjoying herself even more, she sing-songs, "'Cuz you lo~ve me!"

Madara yells, "Liar!"

Naruto coos, "You lo~ve me so~ much!" 

His face is too warm. "No!"

"Yessss!" Naruto squishes his cheeks in between her hands. "Aww, you're blushing! How adorable!"

Curse his pale skin! Madara slaps her hands away and orders, "Stop it!"

"You asked me to marry you like ten times, ya know? So persistent," she snickers.

"I wouldn't!" Madara never runs away from a battle, but he desperately wants to escape now. Unfortunately, Naruto locks her arms around his waist when he turns away to do just that. She falls back onto her bottom and takes him with her.

Her entire body shakes with her laughter as she holds him. He tries to stay mad, to hold on to his anger at her teasing. However, her laugh is infectious and Madara can't help letting out a couple of snorts. Before long, he dissolves into peals of laughter just like her. 

Once their laughter fades and they wipe the tears out of their eyes, a calm settles over them. Madara allows Naruto to rest her cheek atop his head and he settles into her embrace. Father says unnecessary physical contact is for women, but Madara makes an exception for her. He's quite comfortable leaning back into her chest with her bent knees bracketing his sides.

Eventually, she breaks the silence with a groan, "Aw man, my time's almost up. Just when we were gettin’ along, too!"

Madara tenses. He's not even ashamed of the disappointment in his voice. "You're leaving?" 

Naruto tries to rock forward onto her feet but he stubbornly stays his ground to stop her. For good measure, he locks his arms around her knees. She chuckles, "Come on now, I wanna say goodbye." 

She tickles him and he's forced to let go. Before Madara has a chance to grab her again, she lifts him up and turns him around to face her. Once he's standing in front of her, Naruto shifts to balance on her knees.

"Stay here," he orders. Pouting to get his way never works for him like it does for Izuna, but he's willing to give it a try now.

Unfortunately, Naruto just laughs a bit but she shakes her head. She says, "Future-you is probably freakin’ out right now, ya know? You've probably got the entire village on edge while you comb the forest lookin’ for me. You're a real worrywart." 

Madara scowls. He refuses to take the bait. 

She smiles, not unkindly. "But, you're my worrywart." 

Naruto hugs him again and he clings to her jacket. She lets out a wet chuckle. "This is only goodbye for now. Someday soon, we'll meet again. I won't remember today, but try to remind me, okay?" She sniffles, "A lot of bad things are gonna happen between now and then, but always remember that you're not alone. You've got your family, your clan, and me."

"If you're my wife, then you're family, too," Madara corrects.

She snorts. "You always have to have the last word, don't you?"

Before he can reply, his arms are suddenly empty. Madara stumbles forward a bit and looks around for where Naruto might have gone. 

He’s alone in the forest. The only proof that he didn't get caught in a genjutsu or have a hallucination is his discarded war horn at the foot of a tree, and the faint imprint of Naruto's knees in the soft soil.

~xXx~

Tajima likes to take a strict, but fair approach to parenting.

When his eldest son comes home spouting some nonsense about meeting his future wife in the forest, Tajima gives him the benefit of the doubt. Normally, Madara is very mature for his age, so perhaps Tajima has just misunderstood some kind of game. He stands in the doorway of their home library as his son furiously skims through a scroll, apparently looking for something. The contents of the scroll are tough to make out from his position, so he casually inquires, "What did she look like?"

"She had long, golden hair and blue eyes, Father." 

Rare characteristics, to be sure. No clan he knows of has those traits. Perhaps, she hails from a clan located outside the Land of Fire. If she's real. Madara interrupts his musings with a noise of triumph. "Found it! Well…this looks like the marking on her armband, anyway." 

Ah, so he was trying to identify her clan symbol. Why would she still wear her former clan's symbol after marrying into another? Lifting the scroll so Tajima can see it, Madara elaborates, "There were some extra lines on hers, but I think it was the Uzumaki clan crest."

 _Uzumaki?_ Tajima lets his son know that this game is no longer acceptable with a reminder, "That's a sister clan to the Senju."

Madara freezes. Apparently full of surprises today, he tries to defend the mirage. "She's really strong! And fast! And kind! And…and!" 

He desperately struggles to find some aspect of his daydream that will please his father. He's flustered enough that his immaturity is beginning to show. Now Tajima is embarrassed for them both. Just as he's about to bring his son back to reality, his wife's calm voice cuts in, "She sure sounds nice."

Kanna gently, but firmly shoulders past Tajima into the room and Madara visibly calms. She isn't showing yet, but Tajima knows better than to challenge her when she's laden with child. Madara has a hopeful look in his eyes as he shows her the scroll. Tajima tsks, but a sharp look from his wife keeps him from making further comment. Determined to encourage their son's flight of fancy, Kanna says, "This is great news!"

The relief in Madara's voice is telling. He hesitantly questions, "It is?"

"Of course! If you're going to marry an Uzumaki, that means we’re finally going to be on good terms with the Senju." Madara looks to his father to gauge his reaction. Tajima keeps his expression carefully blank as Kanna continues, "That must mean the war will end in your lifetime. Your marriage might even be what ends it. You'll do us proud as the clan leader that brought centuries of fighting to an end!"

Tajima can tell he's lost this battle when Madara brightens and shares a smile with his mother. Kanna takes the scroll out of his hands and sends him out to play with his brothers. Once they're alone, he makes his displeasure known. "Madara should have gone to train."

Sliding the scroll back into place on the shelf, Kanna's voice brokers no room for argument. "He always works hard. He deserves a break."

Tajima reminds her of the obvious, "He's going to be the head of the clan. He has no time to rest."

"Even you sleep, dear," she says.

Eyes narrowed, he addresses the larger issue at hand, "You shouldn't encourage whatever delusions he has."

"He's _seven_. He's allowed to dream," she retorts.

Kanna could be dreadfully naive at times. Being too soft could get their son killed. He tries to explain his concerns, "What if this fantasy weakens Madara's resolve? The Senju could lure him into alliance and use it as an opportunity to stab him in the back." 

"Maybe Madara conquers the Senju and takes a wife from their sister clan as a hostage."

Well aware that she only said it to placate him, Tajima asks, "You believe what he was saying?"

Kanna replies, "It doesn't matter whether I believe he met his future wife or not. He believes he did and if it makes him happy, I'm not going to take it away from him. Besides, it's nice to think that there may come a day when we don't have to fight in a war that neither side can remember the cause of."

" _Nice thoughts_ don't win wars," Tajima sighs.

"You're right. They _end_ them."

~xXx~

Madara panics. Naruto has cheated death many times, but she might have pushed her luck too far this time.

She had been showing him a new jutsu she had created when she disappeared in a flash of light. Her chakra signature had seemingly winked out of existence and he had spent the better part of the afternoon tearing apart the clearing and the surrounding forest looking for her.

_What if she screwed up the jutsu and was drowning in a pool of her own blood somewhere?_

After Naruto accidentally flooded part of a neighborhood, Tobirama demanded they test experimental jutsu in the outskirts of Konoha's territory. Two hours into frantic shouting and overturning boulders, Madara apparently attracted some attention in the village. The notable absence of two public figures may have also been cause for concern. 

Madara vaguely remembers someone, a civilian maybe, asking if he was okay while they happened to be passing by. He doesn't remember what he said—possibly yelled—but it sent them running. Soon after, Izuna and Hashirama showed up. Once Madara calmed down enough to explain the situation, they offered to help him look for Naruto. 

It’s been hours since they set off in different directions to search, but there is still no sign of her. If she needs help, he’s running out of time. Finally, he hears her voice. She sounds far away, but it’s definitely her. "maaaaaaaa"

"Naruto!?" He whips his head left and right, but sees nothing new. Where is she, damn it?!

"daaaaaaAAAAAAAA"

She sounds closer now. How is that possible? Unless...he looks up.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Of course, his wife is falling from the sky. She always likes to make an entrance.

Naruto has her arms outstretched and a wild grin on her face as she plummets towards the ground. Madara allows himself a sigh of relief and exasperation before he braces himself for impact with Susanoo. She crashes into him with the force of a meteor. If they had been anyone else, they'd be dead. Instead, Naruto is laughing like a loon.

Madara shifts them into a sitting position in the center of the crater they just made. He looks at her expectantly as she calms down. She merely says, "I missed you, ya know."

He grumbles, "Don't try to distract me. Where were you?"

In far too casual of a tone, she says, "I time-traveled." 

_Again?_ "Where to?"

"You mean 'when,'" Naruto replies.

Madara is not in a joking mood. "Naruto."

She laughs, "There's my favorite scowl!"

He's far too tired for this. _"Naruto."_

Finally, she explains, "Okay, okay. I went back about a decade. I met a cheeky brat, but he was pretty cute. It's a real shame what happened to him." 

Madara knits his brow in confusion before Naruto squishes his face in between her hands and says, "He grew into a sweaty, stinky grump."

He swats her hands away, "Whose fault do you think it is that I'm sweaty—" 

The full meaning of her words finally sinks in. His face colors and even in the fading light, his pale skin makes it extremely obvious. Naruto coos, "Aww, he's still cute sometimes."

Madara yells, "Naruto!"


End file.
